The final plenary session of the "Geneva Forum: Towards Global Access to Health" was dedicated to summarizing the key issues which emerged during the three days of discussion and exchange and to formulate suggestions on how to develop these issues in the future. The final plenary was also a moment to thank all the contributors of the Forum for their effort and participation.

In face of many recent humanitarian and natural crises in Lebanon, Ethiopia and other places, the topic of today's round table was centred on the issue of how to most effectively access the victims of these crises. Humanitarian relief agencies have to be able to react quickly to any kind of disaster and provide adequate assistance to the concerned governments, as well as evacuating the local population if need be. Unfortunately, as Mr. Angelo Gnaedinger from the International Committee of the Red Cross, Switzerland pointed out, there are limits to the operation of these aid agencies and they have failed in several cases, due to insecurity, and despite a constant optimisation process.

Although the estimated 600 million people with disabilities have formally been recognized, in reality they are still often being overlooked and by no means enjoy the same rights as the rest of the world's population. The goal is to ensure that all people, disabled and able bodied alike, have the same access to all kinds of services in society, in particular health care.

The traditional top-down approach to development is widely criticised as being inappropriate to meet the needs of local populations, especially the very poor. In order to improve this situation, some development organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) favour approaches that integrate local communities in policy formation and implementation. Health, an important aspect of development, necessitates active involvement of the local population. The community remains the key actor in improving its own health standards and communicating its requirements to governments. The speakers A. Um Boock, A.N. Mukhopadhyay and I. Bush each provided examples of how health can be dealt with at the grass-root level.

To achieve global access to health care requires the participation of a range of actors including patients, well-organized NGOs and governments that are held accountable. This specific symposium covered a range of issues that are critical to providing access to health for all, including civil and social issues and the role, vision and improvements provided by the People's Health Movement (PHM) and the Global Health Watch (GHW).

Un constat s'impose : les moyens visant à l'amélioration de la santé ne cessent de progresser et de se diversifier, alors que l'accès à ces moyens reste limité, voire inexistant dans de nombreuses régions du monde.

The means aimed at improving health and healthcare are constantly increasing and diversifying, whereas access to these means remains limited â€" even non-existent â€" in many regions of the world.